


The Silver Arrows Consulting Agency

by Aneiria



Series: Silver Arrows Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry Potter, BAMF Hermione, Community: hp_creatures, F/M, HP Creature Fest 2020 - Quarantine Creature Comeback, Human/Monster Romance, Hunter Hermione Granger, M/M, Mating Bond, Monster Hunters, Multi, Mystery, Peril, Polyamory, Secret Relationship, Triad - Freeform, Werewolf Draco Malfoy, Werewolf Hunters, Werewolf Romance, Werewolf Theo Nott, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:53:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aneiria/pseuds/Aneiria
Summary: ‘You know why we can’t tell people the truth, Granger,’ Draco said sadly, making Hermione hiss in anger even as she knew he spoke the truth. ‘If people found out about either our relationship or mine and Theo’s… true nature, it would destroy you. Professionally, politically. You’d never be able to work in the public eye again.’
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott
Series: Silver Arrows Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179728
Comments: 16
Kudos: 195





	The Silver Arrows Consulting Agency

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as ever to the wonderful [Grace Lou Freebush](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grace_lou_freebush/pseuds/grace_lou_freebush) for the alpha and beta support - I don't know what I'd do without you! 💖

It was just an ordinary day at work for Hermione Granger. 

She sat at the back of the briefing room in the DMLE as Harry outlined the suspect his Aurors were planning to apprehend, her mind wandering as he went into detail about the suspect’s background and crimes. 

Hermione already knew the suspect’s misdemeanours like the back of her hand. She’d done all the necessary research on Weylyn Wilmore and didn’t feel the need to be regaled again with the vicious murders he’d carried out.

She was brought back to earth by Harry saying her name. 

‘Hermione - Ms Granger,’ Harry amended hastily, and Hermione caught sight of a few of the Aurors she knew from Hogwarts share amused grins. 

Seamus was there, as well as Angelina and, of course, Ron. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a friendly nod and a smile from his seat near the front. They may have broken up a few short months after the Battle of Hogwarts, but they had remained close friends. 

‘Most of you know Ms Granger, our consultant hunter, and those that don’t know her personally certainly know her by reputation.’ Harry continued. ‘After gaining top grades in all her N.E.W.T.s, Ms Granger went on to get Muggle degrees in psychology and international relations before spending several years in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures working in policy.’ Harry paused for breath and a low murmur rushed around the room like a breeze. ‘Along with Malfoy and Nott, she formed a consulting agency, and her team has been working with the DMLE ever since.’ Harry turned and beckoned her forward. 

Hermione straightened up from the desk she was leaning on, the crossbow at her hip clanking gently as she moved, the silver bolts in the quiver strapped across her back rattling reassuringly. She still had her wand held firmly in place in the holster strapped around her thigh, but in her experience the silver bolts worked better than any spell to subdue a mark. She tossed her head, knowing her trademark curly hair was tightly bound out of the way in a long French plait. 

Seamus gave her a surreptitious thumbs up from the front row of Aurors. 

‘Ms Granger is the country’s best werewolf hunter,’ Harry was explaining now. ‘She and her team are unparalleled when it comes to apprehending dark werewolves. She’s here today consulting on the Wilmore case, and will talk to you about best practices on dark werewolf hunting.’

The Aurors turned to look at her, several with unadulterated awe on their faces. 

It wasn’t quite what Hermione had planned when finishing Hogwarts in eighth year, that’s for sure. 

She quickly realised, while working in the DRCMC, that policy work was slow moving and painful. There were too many werewolves out there who were dark, either having followed Voldemort during the war or turned afterwards. The wizarding world would never accept most of Hermione’s progressive policies when so many dark werewolves were still at large. After one too many of her policies was rejected, Hermione decided to do something about it, and found she loved her job as a consultant much more than working in the stuffy bowels of the Ministry.

‘The most important thing to remember about werewolves,’ Hermione said now, her tall boots ringing on the floorboards as she paced up and down, ‘is that they are immune to the majority of damage a spell would do to a normal witch or wizard. Unless you’re working in teams with co-ordinated spells, you’re barely going to make a dent.’ She turned, her crossbow on display. ‘It might feel like a stereotype, but if you find yourself facing a werewolf alone, good old fashioned silver really is the best way to incapacitate a werewolf.’

Hermione fixed her gaze on the Aurors. ‘The key word here is  _ incapacitate _ . We do not use lethal force. We aim to bring in suspects subdued but unharmed. Standard procedure when we hand over the suspect to you is at least a double  _ Incarcerous _ .’

It had been after her first year of working as a freelance werewolf hunter when Hermione was approached by two of her old school nemeses. There had been something more dangerous about Malfoy and Nott than Hermione ever remembered from Hogwarts, even when Draco had taken the Dark Mark. They’d just wanted to talk, however, intrigued by her background at the DRCMC and her current job hunting down werewolves with bounties on them. 

She soon worked out their secret, of course - she was one of the country’s foremost experts on werewolves by that point, after all - but she also understood why they wanted to help. 

And Hermione needed all the help she could get if she was going to make any tangible change to werewolf legislation in her lifetime.

She turned back to the assembled Aurors, waving her wand to bring up a presentation she’d prepared to take them through how to subdue and capture werewolves. When she finished, Harry waved to his assembled Aurors. 

‘Briefing is over,’ Harry announced, and the Aurors started to stand up and disperse, most of them ready to finish work for the day. Harry gave Hermione a jerk of his head towards his office, and they walked over together. He pushed open the door to his office, the shining brass plaque reading  _ Head Auror: Harry James Potter _ rattling as it opened. 

Hermione followed him in, accepting a cup of tea from Harry once the little kettle in the corner boiled. She sat herself on the other side of Harry’s desk, nursing her tea, as Harry sat in his chair and magicked a map in front of them. The rest of his team may have been relieved of duty for the day, but for Harry and Hermione the hard work of strategizing was only just beginning. 

Hermione recognised the map display as the area of forest in the Trossachs where Wilmore had last been sighted. Harry waved his wand again, highlighting an area further in.

‘Okay, Hermione,’ Harry said now, staring intently at the map. ‘You and your team will lead up, and you’ll have Johnson, Brown and Macmillan backing you up in the field.’

Hermione almost spilled her tea as a jolt of alarm flooded her body.

‘Wait, what?’ Hermione asked as she steadied her teacup. ‘You’re sending Aurors in with us this time? Not just for the suspect handover?’

Harry gave her a look of puzzlement. 

‘Well, yes, of course. I know you and the boys usually manage alone, but my team have to learn sometime. And it means you’ll get backup for once. I’ll be there too, obviously.’

Hermione was silent, and she took a sip of her tea to hide her discomfit. Harry barrelled on speaking, apparently not noticing.

‘You think it’s best to go during the full moon for this one or not?’ Harry asked, and this time Hermione had to reply. 

‘Definitely not the full moon,’ she said sharply, earning a wince from Harry. ‘Sorry, Harry, it’s not that your Aurors aren’t good,’ she amended hastily. ‘But they’re used to hunting down wizards, not werewolves. We’re not going anywhere near the suspect within three days either side of a full moon.’ 

Luckily, Harry nodded along with her. She wasn’t entirely lying: she wouldn’t want the Aurors near fully transformed werewolves without any prior field experience, but there was another reason for her demand. Normally full moon hunting wasn’t an issue, in fact for Draco and Theo it was a bonus, but not with other people around.

It would be terrible for business if people were to find out the truth. 

Instead Hermione listened as Harry came up with a date that worked, towards the end of the week, and started sketching out his idea for the sting. By the time he and Hermione finished batting ideas back and forth and came up with the start of a solid plan, the sun had long set, and it was dark outside. 

‘So on the day of the mission you can bring Malfoy and Nott in to meet the team and we’ll brief on battle formations and the like.’ Harry took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes tiredly. ‘But for now I think we’re done. Want to grab some dinner in the Alley?’ Harry asked lightly as he replaced his glasses and picked up his robe. ‘I feel like I barely see you outside of work.’

‘Sounds good, Harry,’ Hermione said with a tired smile, and together the old friends went for dinner. 

After a long day consulting and strategizing at the DMLE and another couple of hours at the pub with Harry, eating copious amounts of chips and laughing over butterbeers, even Hermione’s hair was limp with exhaustion by the time she got home.

She walked through the enormous doors to Nott Manor, her boots clicking on the marble floor of the foyer, and unhooked her weapons and dropped them with a clatter on the mahogany sideboard.

From one of the rooms off the foyer, Crookshanks appeared on doddering old legs, his orange fur a bit shabbier and his tail a bit more bottle-brushy in old age. He chirruped happily at the sight of her, and Hermione smiled and stooped down to tickle him beneath his greying chin. 

When he’d had a few solid minutes of attention, Crookshanks turned to disappear back to where he came from, and Hermione lifted her head towards the grand staircase. 

It had taken some getting used to, moving into the old Pureblood manor house. But Hermione had been struggling paying a London rent while working at the Ministry, and when she went freelance it got even harder.

One of the perks of her choice in business partners happened to be the hefty inheritances they’d come into once the war reparations had been deducted. 

Soon all three of them had moved in together and set up the old, unused west wing of the manor as the home of their business, the  _ Silver Arrows Consulting Agency _ . 

Hermione cast a glance in the direction of their offices now, but surely they wouldn’t still be up working this late. 

Her suspicions were answered when a tall, dark, and very handsome wizard appeared from the opposite direction of the offices, padding across the marble floor in bare feet, dressed in dark jeans and a soft, blue cashmere jumper. Hermione couldn’t help smiling as he gathered her in his arms. 

‘Come to bed,’ Theo purred, his breath hot against her skin. ‘You’ve had a long day. Draco’s waiting for us up there already. You know we’ll help make you feel better,’ he finished in a low, sexy growl that sent shivers all the way down Hermione’s body.

One thing she had never expected, when she first went into business with Draco and Theo, even if she’d already worked out their secret by then, was that she’d find out the three of them were mates.

‘I’d love a bath first,’ Hermione admitted hopefully. 

Theo kissed her temple. ‘There’s a hot bath ready for you upstairs,’ he replied. ‘Draco ran it hours ago, he’s been keeping it under a warming charm.’ Hermione melted inside. 

‘What did I do to deserve the two of you?’ She smiled against him, pressing her body harder against his.

‘The real question,’ Theo said, ‘is what  _ we _ did to deserve you.’ With that he lifted her into his arms as easily as if she were a kitten. Ignoring her protests, he carried her up the grand staircase, and eventually she gave up arguing and settled, secretly happily, against his broad chest, engulfed in his scent and with her fingers stroking at the soft wool of his jumper. By the time he walked them into their bedroom, Hermione was half-asleep against him. 

‘Come on, Granger.’ An affectionate voice pulled her out of her sleepiness, and Hermione blinked open her eyes to see a familiar silver gaze looking down at her. She reached out for Draco from the warmth of Theo’s arms, her heart singing happily to be with her two boys again. 

They’d agreed it was best for everything - their work, their goals for werewolf rights, their public relations - to keep both their relationship and the boys' proclivities secret. It just meant moments like this, in the privacy of their home, all the more special. 

Theo carefully bundled her over to Draco, and Draco carried her through to the bathroom. She breathed in the familiar scent of him, her fingers brushing the crispness of his shirt, in contrast with the softness of Theo’s jumper.

‘You can sleep once you’ve had a nice, relaxing bath,’ Draco was saying now, and the air grew hot and steamy as they moved into the bathroom. As Theo promised, there was already a deep bath waiting for her, filled with her favourite jasmine-scented bubbles. Draco carefully set her on her feet, and she reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the lips.

‘This is lovely, thank you,’ she said. He helped her undress and lifted her into the hot water, pulling up a chair and rolling his shirtsleeves to his elbows. Pouring a liberal helping of bath oil onto his hands, he started to massage her shoulders, his long, strong fingers sinking into her aching muscles. 

With a deep sigh of happiness, Hermione was just thinking the only thing that could be better than this was if Theo came and joined them, when - as if reading her mind - he turned up with a bottle of elf-made red wine and three crystal wine glasses. 

‘This is the perfect ending to a long day,’ Hermione said in satisfaction, as Draco leaned down to kiss the back of her neck and move his fingers further down her back. As she sat forward to allow Draco access to the muscles below her shoulder blades, wincing slightly as he found a particularly tight knot beneath her skin, Theo passed her a full wine glass. She took it from him gratefully, their fingers brushing, and he turned and poured a second glass for Draco and a third for himself. 

‘I know what could make it more perfect,’ Theo said with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. Hermione gave him a warning look. 

‘Not until I’ve at least finished my wine,’ she said firmly. ‘And Draco’s finished my massage,’ she decided, taking another sip of her drink. From behind her, Draco laughed darkly and let his hands run lower.

‘I could always massage a very different part of you, Granger,’ he growled, making her core clench deliciously, especially with his hands slipping across her damp skin. ‘With a very different part of me,’ he added, no doubt with a smirk, as Theo laughed. 

‘Draco has the right idea,’ he said easily, downing the rest of his wine. He got back to his feet and started to pull his clothes off. In seconds he was naked and sinking into the enormous bathtub beside Hermione, the water sloshing and splashing Draco as he did. Draco huffed and pulled his hands away quickly, and Theo threw him a dark grin even as he turned to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her, letting their naked bodies slide across each other under the water. 

‘Come on, Draco,’ Theo urged, his hands slipping down to cup Hermione’s ass. ‘I want you naked and in here too.’

With a reluctant smile, Draco slowly undressed as Theo kissed Hermione, long and slow, the water moving like silk over them. When Draco slowly lowered himself into the water and joined them, Hermione allowed herself a small smile.

If the rest of the wizarding work found out Hermione Granger, war heroine, golden girl, and renowned werewolf hunter, was in a polyamorous relationship with not one but two ex-Death Eater werewolves, then all of them would be targetted. The press would never let them rest, the complaints would stop their work, and they’d be ostracized from public life. 

Despite the risks their relationship ran, however, Hermione knew she’d never have it any other way.

Harry had a look of guilt on his face when Hermione walked into the Ministry on the day of the mission, Theo and Draco flanking her. She could feel the slight wavering in their mate bond and knew they’d picked up on Harry’s discomfort as well.

‘We’ve had an official complaint,’ Harry began, his voice apologetic. Hermione could practically hear Theo’s eyes roll, although Draco stiffened beside her. 

‘What kind of complaint?’ Hermione asked archly, even as Harry looked away uncomfortably. 

‘How the Ministry is employing Death Eaters on its payroll,’ Harry said, and Hermione knew her eyes were glinting dangerously.

‘ _ Ex _ -Death Eaters,’ she hissed. ‘And fully exonerated on account of the fact that they were  _ children _ at the time.’

‘Granger,’ Draco tried to no avail as she waved him silent and Harry defended himself.

‘I know that, Hermione,’ Harry said, ‘all of us here know that.’ 

Hermione caught Ron nodding along in solidarity, and she felt a begrudging flicker of gratefulness at the support from her old friend, despite her frustration at the closed-mindedness of so much of the wizarding world. Theo moved in a bit closer to her, so she could feel the heat rolling off his body against her own.

‘Let’s be clear,’ Harry insisted, lifting his gaze from Draco to Theo. ‘You have the Department’s - and my - complete trust and gratefulness that you’re here to help us. And no complaints are going to stop us working together. It’s just policy to inform contractors of any complaints raised against them. Also, if enough of these complaints mount up, it can get a bit dangerous leaving and entering the Ministry from London, and I just want you all to be safe.’

Draco and Theo shared a dark look, and Hermione clenched her fists in a bid to constrain her anger. She knew Harry meant well, but there weren’t many things, in either the Muggle or magical world, that could cause any risk of harm to her partners as long as their true natures remained secret. 

‘Thanks for letting us know, Potter,’ Draco said, his fingertips just brushing against Hermione’s as if in reassurance. Hermione nodded tightly in agreement, and Harry gave her a small, sad smile. He turned to Ron and jerked his head towards the door, and the two of them slipped out of the room. Hermione went to follow them, but Draco reached out and gently tugged on her arm while charming the door closed, pulling her back so they could have a few moments of privacy together.

‘It’s alright, Granger,’ Draco soothed her, enveloping her in his arms as Theo crowded her from the other side, dropping a kiss on the hair she was sure was currently sparking with anger. 

‘We can’t let bigoted arses like that affect us, Hermione,’ Theo agreed, keeping his voice mild. 

‘I know,’ Hermione replied through gritted teeth. ‘It’s just so unfair! As if they have any idea what you went through! What you’re still going through, every month.’ 

She sighed and shook her head in frustration. Theo pulled back a curl and tucked it behind her ear before pressing a kiss against the skin of her neck.

‘You know why we can’t tell people the truth, Granger,’ Draco said sadly, making Hermione hiss in anger even as she knew he spoke the truth. ‘If people found out about either our relationship or mine and Theo’s…  _ true _ natures, it would destroy you. Professionally, politically. You’d never be able to work in the public eye again.’

Hermione pulled away from both of them, stalking to the opposite end of the room instead. When she turned back, Draco and Theo were holding each other's hands, their fingers entwined as they watched her pace. Her heart melted a little at the sight, and she huffed and tossed her plait over her shoulder. 

‘I just hope everything we’re doing isn’t hopeless,’ she said despondently. ‘What if werewolves are never accepted into wizarding society without prejudice? Look at how much Teddy Lupin has had to put up with so far.’ She paused and felt herself wilt as her mind raced with thoughts of her boys being rejected, bullied, maybe even attacked, if they were ever found out. ‘You’ve both done so much to atone for the war, and no-one else even knows that Greyback attacked you on Voldemort’s command. You’ve been through so much, and you deserve to be happy!’

‘Granger.’ Draco dropped Theo’s hand and crossed the room to Hermione in two long strides, cupping her face in his hands and leaning down so he was eye to eye with her. ‘Sweetheart, you know as long as we’re with you, Theo and I will be fine. We can discuss all of this later if you really want, but for now we need to stay focused. We’ve committed to helping Potter and his team catch this asshole.’

Hermione looked up in surprise at Draco sticking up for Harry, but he just smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. 

Theo moved towards them, and Hermione held out her hand for his. ‘We owe it to Potter to get this job done,’ Theo agreed. ‘Then, why don’t we take a bit of a break? Maybe head to the Malfoy property in Wales for a week away, just the three of us.’

‘That does sound nice,’ Hermione admitted. She couldn’t remember the last time the three of them had had any real extended quality time together.

They both smiled at her, and she took a deep, calming breath. 

She could defend her boys another time. Right now, they were needed in the Trossachs. 

The forest was dark and dangerous even without a full moon. 

Hermione could just see the swish of an Auror robe out of the corner of her left eye and knew Angelina was there. She could also feel the mating bond between herself and Draco and Theo, aware of their presence a little further ahead of herself and the Aurors. 

As planned, she and Angelina split up, covering their assigned quadrants of the forest. It became quieter, and a lot spookier, when she couldn’t see anyone else. The bond still tugged at her heart, letting her know Draco and Theo were safe and in her vicinity. 

From the distance, there was an angry, growling curse. 

Hermione raised her hand defensively, a shield spell on the tip of her tongue. 

Hermione had long ago taught herself reliable, wandless defence magic. She realised her crossbow was more likely to save her life than her wand against the bounties she hunted, but carrying a crossbow meant she didn’t always have a spare hand to wield her wand. 

As the trees ahead of her rustled, Hermione came to a halt, taking hold of her crossbow and raising it in the direction of the movement. 

Sure enough, a hulking figure emerged from the trees, and Hermione recognised Weylyn Wilmore from her briefing papers. He curled his lip into a savage grin, and Hermione aimed her crossbow at his chest, the silver of the bolt glinting in the light from the crescent moon.

‘Come quietly, Wilmore,’ she said, keeping her voice firm. ‘You’re surrounded by Aurors. If you come in voluntarily, things will be easier for you.’

The wizard just smiled grimly, ignoring her words, and tensed himself to pounce.

In that moment, several things happened all at once. 

A loud voice cried out ‘ _ LUNA TOTALUS _ ’ from somewhere deep in the trees.

A blinding flash of silver light exploded through the forest. 

A long, familiar, howl of pain echoed from somewhere ahead of her, tugging at her heart. 

And a hulking, hairy, enormous Wilmore launched himself at Hermione as she loosed her bolt. 

Hermione fell back heavily as Wilmore’s wolfish form landed on her, the bolt buried in his chest doing little to slow him down. She realised with horror that the once crescent moon was now full: Wilmore was fully transformed, and Hermione was in grave danger.

Hermione had no chance to consider how this had happened. Instead she focused on bracing her arms against the werewolf, keeping his snapping jaws, dripping with saliva, away from her neck and face. She heard a strangled scream ricochet around the trees and realised it had come from her own throat. 

Hermione struggled a second longer against Wilmore, her arms shaking and about to give way, when suddenly all the heaviness and heat was forcibly pulled away from her. 

Rolling over instantly to grab a hold of her crossbow, her hands already reaching for a new silver bolt and loading it by the time she was back on her feet, Hermione aimed back at Wilmore.

‘Oh, fuck,’ she gasped, realising who had howled so familiarly and painfully moments ago. 

A silver-haired, silver-eyed werewolf was snapping angrily at Wilmore as they rolled and fought viciously on the ground, jaws open and teeth bared. There was blood streaming from one of them. Hermione could see it staining the pale, silver hair of Draco in his werewolf form, although Wilmore’s russet-red fur didn’t show it in the darkness. Hermione aimed again, but they were moving too fast for her to get a safe shot on Wilmore without risking hitting Draco by mistake. 

They tumbled towards her, and Wilmore snapped angrily in her direction, making her jump back in alarm. A second later, another werewolf barrelled into the clearing, this one with dark fur and flashing, sapphire blue eyes. Hermione’s heart sank as she recognised Theo. 

Theo stalked in front of Hermione, keeping her behind him as he growled menacingly at the fighting pair on the ground, keeping her safely out of the way. 

As Draco’s jaws closed around Wilmore’s neck and he forced him to the ground, subduing him until he whimpered and lay still, Angelina and Macmillan rushed into the clearing, wands raised. 

‘No!’ Hermione called out in alarm as they started to cast spells. If they remembered what she’d told them in the briefing and cast their offensive spells in tandem, Draco and Theo risked being hurt. She crooked her fingers and raised the strongest  _ Protego _ she could, over herself and all three of the werewolves. 

‘Hermione?’ Harry’s alarmed voice carried across the clearing, and she looked over to see him rushing in, his own wand raised, his emerald eyes flashing as he took in the scene before him.

‘Harry!’ She cried back, sweat breaking out on her brow as she struggled to maintain the expanded  _ Protego _ without her wand. She dared not reach for it; even a split second of dropping her shield could mean Draco and Theo being harmed by the Aurors’ synchronized spells. ‘Call them off! It’s safe.’

‘Hermione, what—’ Harry cried out in confusion, but she turned and snarled at him at the same time as Theo did. 

‘Harry, it’s  _ them _ !’ She screamed back. ‘Call your Aurors off!’

In a tense heartbeat, no one moved, and Hermione’s shield wavered. She dropped to her knees as exhaustion threatened to overcome her. Theo turned towards her, concern apparent even in his wolf eyes. 

Harry seemed to snap to attention, and she knew he’d worked out what was happening.

‘Aurors, wands down!’ He cried out, and Hermione sobbed in relief as Angelina and Macmillan slowly did as they were commanded. 

Brown was nowhere in sight. 

Sure that the Aurors were no longer on the offensive, Hermione dropped her  _ Protego _ and fell to the ground. Theo was by her side before Harry could even move, his wet nose nuzzling her face in concern. She could feel the terror through their bond, and reached out to stroke his face.

‘I’m alright,’ she reassured him, and Theo huffed in relief against her and curled his body around hers, snarling in warning at Harry as he approached. Luckily, Harry seemed to catch on to what was happening, and he turned to Angelina and Macmillan.

‘Get Wilmore under restraints,’ Harry yelled at them, quickly adding, ‘The darker one!’ as they moved in. Hermione cast a look over to where Draco had pinned down a snarling, snapping Wilmore. ‘Double them up, treat him as if it were a real full moon. Leave the other two alone.’

With wide eyes and wary expressions, the two Aurors approached Draco and Wilmore. When they had Wilmore under control, Draco released him and rushed to Hermione’s side, pushing Theo aside so he could nuzzle at her, reassuring himself that she was safe. 

Slick, red blood was congealing in his fur, but to Hermione’s relief none of it seemed to be his. She anchored her hands in his fur, resting back against Theo, as the three of them huddled in a protective group.

‘I’m fine,’ she assured them, keeping her voice quiet. ‘He didn’t bite me. I’m okay. Are you both - can you understand me?’ Both wolves nodded their heads, and she breathed out in relief. ‘We need to get you back, quickly,’ she said, and Draco huffed in agreement. Hermione slowly got to her feet, still shaking, and turned to Harry, Draco and Theo flanking her on either side in their wolf forms.

‘I can explain everything,’ she started cautiously. ‘But first I need to get them home before anyone else sees them.’ 

Harry just stared at her in disbelief, until he nodded his head and sighed. ‘Get them out of here. Be back at the DMLE as soon as they’re safe to debrief.’

‘Harry,’ Hermione said as she drew her wand. ’Someone cast a spell that made the moon full. Someone did this on purpose and put us all in danger.’

Harry’s eyes flashed in understanding, and he looked around at his Aurors.

Brown was still missing.

‘I’ve got this covered,’ Harry assured her, raising his own wand and casting a  _ Patronus _ . His silvery stag appeared, and Harry spoke to it quickly, calling for backup, and sent it to Ron. He turned back to Hermione, looking from Draco to Theo as they stood by her side. ‘Get going before the others get here,’ he said, grimly.

Nodding at her best friend, Hermione drew her wand, grabbed hold of the two wolves, and Apparated all three of them home.

It was a difficult Apparition with Hermione having to concentrate on maintaining Theo and Draco in wolf form. Coupled with the shock from the physical attack and the exhaustion of the wandless  _ Protego _ , Hermione fell to her knees again as they landed in the marble foyer of Nott Manor. Draco and Theo were there instantly, propping her up. 

‘I’m alright,’ she assured them, reaching out blindly to wrap her fingers in one of their coats. Getting to her feet again, she dropped her crossbow and raised her wand. She needed to act fast, to secure Draco and Theo, before heading back to the DMLE to find out exactly what had happened back in the forest and how much damage control she needed to do.

Hermione knew her eyes were flashing angrily when she stalked back into the DMLE later that evening. The boys were safely locked up in the dungeons of the Manor, waiting for the remnants of the spell to wear off. She wasn’t sure it was entirely necessary - they’d managed to keep a large amount of human understanding and autonomy compared to normal - but she wanted to be sure. 

She flung the door to the Auror bullpen open, finding Harry, Angelina and Macmillan sitting around Harry’s desk in the corner of the floor, with Ron, Seamus and Dean by their sides. They all wore heavy frowns. Harry got to his feet when Hermione approached, dark circles under his eyes and his hair more unruly than ever.

‘It was Brown,’ Harry said before Hermione could even speak. ‘We’ve got him in a holding cell now.’ 

’Brown?’ Hermione repeated in surprise. She didn’t know the Auror particularly well - he’d started Hogwarts after they’d left - but he’d always seemed to be a quiet, sensible sort. 

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, and Ron pushed himself off of the desk he was leaning on to stand before her. 

‘Gabriel Brown is Lavender’s little brother,’ Ron said softly with a sigh, reaching out to take Hermione’s hand. 

_ Oh _ . Hermione’s body flooded with pity as she looked down to where Ron held her hand. 

Lavender Brown, Ron’s ex-girlfriend, Hermione’s old dorm mate. 

Lavender, who had died at the Battle of Hogwarts. 

Lavender, killed by Fenrir Greyback. Murdered by a werewolf.

Hermione bit her lip as compassion battled with protective fury. 

‘No-one’s excusing what he did,’ Ron added hastily, as Harry snorted from his seat at his desk.

‘Brown endangered you, Malfoy and Nott and two of my best Aurors,’ Harry said angrily to Hermione. ‘Not to mention a suspect who we’re supposed to presume innocent until proven guilty. Everyone has bad shit in their past, but it never excuses trying to hurt other people.’

Hermione reached over to take Harry’s hand as well, the touch of her two best friends the same reassurance it always had been. 

‘Brown had no idea about Malfoy and Nott,’ Angelina spoke now, and Hermione looked up sharply. ‘He wanted to force Wilmore to transform so me and Macmillan would kill him instead of taking him in.’

‘So you all know then,’ Hermione said quietly, her heart clenching protectively at the thought of the Aurors knowing about Theo and Draco. Of course they did, she realised. How else could it be explained, Draco and Theo disappearing in the middle of a hunt, and Hermione Appararting away with two unidentified werewolves? As if sensing her inner turmoil, Harry reached over and rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her.

‘Well, at least he’s in custody now. And no-one was hurt?’ She spoke briskly, trying her best to tamp down her raging emotions, as she looked from Ron to Harry. 

‘Wilmore is fine,’ Harry said. ‘He’s got an injury on his front leg - er, arm - but the bleeding has stopped, and we have a Mediwitch on hand to treat him as soon as the full moon effects wear off.’

Hermione nodded, relieved to hear Draco hadn’t seemed to do any lasting damage. Harry gave her a fleeting, careful look. 

‘Hermione,’ he started, his voice guarded. She looked up, most of her mind back at the Manor with Theo and Draco, hoping they were doing okay. She wanted to be there when the spell wore off, and now she knew the perpetrator was safely under Harry’s guard, she was eager to be off again. ‘Hermione, no one here will say anything about what happened. About… Malfoy. And Nott.’ Hermione frowned as Angelina and the others nodded in agreement. Harry’s expression was pained as he continued. ‘But you know the case details will be made public when it first goes to the Wizengamot.’ 

It took Hermione a moment to realise what he was insinuating. When the case went to the Wizengamot, the whole of the wizarding world would know that Draco and Theo were werewolves, and the fallout would come. 

Her heart sank in her breast, and she nodded hopelessly, her heart seeming to sink further in her chest. 

‘I understand,’ she said, her voice quiet. ‘How long do you think we have?’ 

Harry sighed. ‘I reckon I can stretch it to a week.’

She squeezed his hand. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered, and he nodded in return. 

‘Get back to them,’ he said. ‘I’ll come by in the morning to take a statement from all three of you. And we will talk properly about all of this when everything is dealt with,’ he added, and she knew she hadn’t entirely escaped a ticking off from Harry about keeping this secret from him. 

Giving him a small smile and saying goodbye to the exhausted Aurors, Hermione drew her wand and Apparated for the final time that evening. 

The sun was starting to rise when Hermione landed back at Nott Manor and made her way down to the dungeons. 

Her heart melted a little when she walked in and found Draco and Theo naked and curled up around each other on the blanket on the floor like loose-limbed puppies, fully human once again. Theo was curled in Draco’s arms, and Draco was the first to stir as Hermione cast an  _ Alohamora _ on the cage doors. 

Draco opened one lazy eye and watched her as she opened the door and approached them. Theo grumbled slightly in his sleep and pressed back against Draco. Draco dropped a kiss against the back of his neck before unravelling his arms from around Theo and pulling back just enough to create a Hermione-sized gap between them, ignoring the whine of protest from a still-sleeping Theo. 

Hermione gave a tired smile and dropped to the floor, crawling into the space made for her, and closed her eyes as their heat and very presence soothed her, the mating bond between all three of them flaring happily at being reunited. 

Draco pulled her back into his front, wrapping his arms around her and nestling her body into his. In front of her, Theo finally stirred, rolling over so he was nose to nose with Hermione. His arms joined Draco’s in embracing her, and between the two of them, she allowed herself a moment of peace after the events of the night.

‘How bad is it?’ Draco murmured against her ear. 

She sighed and closed her eyes, the peace broken. Draco kissed her ear and stroked her waist while he waited for her to reply. 

‘Pretty bad,’ she finally admitted, opening her eyes again to find Theo was now awake too, his sapphire eyes watching her carefully. ‘We have about a week until the whole of wizarding Britain knows about you both.’ 

There was a moment of silence as they lay locked together. 

They’d always been safe in their triad, keeping their relationship quiet and their afflictions secret. Now, though, everything would be exposed and scrutinised. Coupled with Draco and Theo’s history with the Death Eaters, they would probably be totally ruined.

‘Well, we always knew this day would probably come,’ Theo said with forced lightness, even as he stifled a yawn.

‘Theo’s right,’ Draco agreed. ‘I’ll call up the Malfoy lawyers this morning.’

‘Good plan. Me and Draco might be about to become ostracised, but we can get you out safely, sweetheart.’ With that, Theo leaned in to try and kiss her, but Hermione braced her hands against his face and pushed him away. 

‘What?’ She said in shock, scrambling to sit up. Slowly, Draco and Theo followed, and in any other situation she would have been happily distracted by their dishevelled hair and lean, naked bodies. Right now, however, she had other things on her mind, like her boyfriends - her  _ mates _ \- trying to distance themselves from her. 

‘We’re in this together. We’re a triad,’ she hissed, ignoring the slow grins that appeared on both their faces. ‘You’re not “saving” me by pushing me away. And anyway,’ she said, getting to her feet and placing her hands on her hips, glaring down at the two of them sprawled naked at her feet, ‘I’d like to see  _ anyone _ successfully ostracise the so-called Golden Girl, decorated war hero, and most successful dark werewolf hunter this country has ever seen!’ 

Hermione took a breath, finding herself short on air after her rant, and Draco started slow clapping from the floor. 

‘I certainly wouldn’t mess with you,’ Theo grumbled as he rolled to his knees and got to his feet. Hermione tried to ignore his nudity and the way his dick was already half-hard, but it was difficult when he towered over her and crowded in to hug her. Draco got to his feet too, and Hermione gasped when she got a good look at him. His pale, scarred chest was covered in dried blood and dirt. 

‘Oh,  _ Merlin _ , Draco,’ she breathed. Theo shifted around her to take a look at him too, and she felt his whole body tense for a moment until he was sure it wasn’t Draco’s own blood.

‘Fuck, sweetheart,’ Theo echoed Hermione’s concern, releasing her and reaching for Draco instead. Theo was also covered in dirt, Hermione noticed now, although nowhere near as much as Draco - not surprising, as Draco had been the one fighting to keep Wilmore pinned down to the ground.

‘Okay, this is the plan,’ Hermione said, putting her hands back on her hips and using her bossiest voice. ‘First, showers for everyone.’

‘Together?’ Theo asked hopefully, as Draco chuckled. 

Hermione ignored them both. 

’Then, Draco, call your lawyers and get them over here. Theo can make us some breakfast, and I’m going to call Padma. I’m bringing her out to check you both over.’ The boys groaned in unison but Hermione carried on talking. ‘You were forcibly transformed last night under the influence of an unknown spell, I want to make sure there’s no lasting damage. Padma will be a bit pissed that I didn’t tell her about your…  _ condition _ , but she won’t tell anyone else.’ Hermione’s close friend Padma Patil worked at the Ministry as an Unspeakable, specialising in dark curses. 

Orders given, Theo and Draco wandered off to shower, not bothering to cover up as they left the dungeons. There were only house elves in the manor, and they knew better than to come out unless called. Hermione followed more slowly, her mind whirring faster than she could keep up with. 

It was calmed a little by the glorious shower sex between the three of them once Draco had washed the dried blood from his skin, and afterwards, Hermione found herself sitting at the kitchen table in clean clothes with her curls tied in a messy topknot, nursing a strong cup of coffee with Padma. 

‘I can’t believe you told me you were secretly dating Malfoy and Nott but you failed to mention they were both  _ werewolves _ ,’ Padma was saying now, with wide, brown eyes. 

Hermione winced. ‘I know, Pads, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I mean, at least I told you I was dating them,’ she added guiltily. It had been more than most other people had received. ‘But thank you so much for coming to check over them.’

Padma smiled and laid her hand over Hermione’s. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I’m always here for you, you know that.’

Draco wandered into the kitchen, now clean and relaxed, although still with purple bruises under his eyes. 

‘Hi, Padma,’ he said easily, reaching to kiss her on each cheek as she rose to greet him. ‘Thanks for coming out, although we’re both fine,’ he insisted. He helped himself to a cup of tea before joining them at the table. 

‘Still, we want to make sure you’re okay,’ Hermione insisted. 

Draco gave her a warm smile and didn’t argue anymore. When Theo joined them, Padma ran a few diagnostic charms on the pair of them, finally turning to Hermione with a smile. 

‘They’re both fine,’ she announced. ‘Other than in desperate need of a good night’s sleep.’

‘And my lawyers are on their way over now, Granger,’ Malfoy added, taking a sip of his tea. ‘So we can get started on our plan of attack.’ 

‘And I,’ Theo said, turning with a flourish from the stove with a spatula in his hand, ‘am making breakfast for us all.’ 

In the end, with the help of the Malfoy family lawyers, they decided to break the story themselves. They granted an exclusive to the Quibbler, with Hermione’s old friend Luna Lovegood orchestrating the interview. It came out the day before Brown’s Wizengamot trial and had the country up in arms. 

Hermione looked up from her copy of the Quibbler, re-reading the joint statement they’d given, when she heard a whoosh from the fireplace and looked up to see Harry stepping through the green flames into her office in the west wing of Nott Manor, the home of the  _ Silver Arrows Consulting Agency _ . 

‘Morning,’ Harry said, his voice tired, as Hermione stood up to embrace him. ‘How are you feeling?’ 

She shrugged and turned to pour him a cup of tea from her ever-warm teapot. ‘Waiting for the Howlers, to be honest,’ she admitted with a wry smile. ‘We’re ready to shut down the business, Draco’s lawyers have been working on all the necessary paperwork.’

‘I’m really sorry this all happened, Hermione. And on my watch as well! I should have been more involved in the new Auror hiring process. Brown should never have been allowed to graduate.’ 

Hermione and Harry sat down together on the leather sofa in the office. 

‘It’s not your responsibility to do background checks on every Auror, Harry,’ Hermione assured him. ‘You’re Head Auror, you can’t do everything yourself. Besides, we knew this day would come eventually.’

Harry sighed and leaned back in his seat. 

‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, Hermione. Why not? Did you think I wouldn’t understand?’ He sounded hurt, and Hermione’s heart ached at having lied to him for so long.

‘Of course not, Harry,’ she said. ‘You were so understanding about the relationship in the first place, and Remus…’ she hesitated as the guilt flickered across Harry’s face. ‘Of course you’d understand. But Harry, you’re Head Auror. And  _ Silver Arrows _ consults with the DMLE. If you knew, you’d be obliged to report it, and you know we would have been hounded out of our contract with you. All those complaints already, and they didn’t know the half of it...’

Harry looked away with a sigh, and she knew he knew she was right. It gnawed away at her, making her feel sick, however, and she was sure Harry felt the same. They sat in silence a bit longer, until Harry finally sighed again, more loudly, and turned back to her. 

‘What will you do now?’ he asked, his voice softer. 

‘We’ve not quite decided that yet, Potter,’ came a new voice from the doorway. 

Draco walked in, Theo by his side, both of them looking more rested than they had for months. The release of being honest about who they were, and about their relationship, had seemed to have a positive effect on them both. 

‘I mean, we’ll be fine financially, of course, whatever happens,’ Theo added wryly, and Harry snorted as he looked around the elegant manor office. 

‘We need to sort out the legal side of things first,’ Hermione said glumly. ‘Register the boys with the Magical Creatures division, pay the fine for not disclosing earlier, ready the lawyers for any libel cases that arise from the news, shut down the consultancy.’

‘It’ll be okay, Granger,’ Draco said softly, sitting down next to her and kissing her temple. She leaned into him, grateful for his grounding touch, as Theo smiled fondly at them both and sat at her desk, putting his feet up on her desk. 

‘We don’t have to hide anymore,’ Theo said mildly, and Hermione looked up at him with a smile. ‘And as long as we’re together, we’ll be happy.’ 

The three of them lay in bed later that night, curled around each other the way Hermione loved. When they were all touching like this, naked and sated, she could feel their mating bond flaring, feel their tendrils of magic brush against each other. 

‘I love you both,’ Hermione said into the darkness. 

She felt Draco shift against her, his thighs brushing against hers, and his lips found her shoulder blade and pressed a kiss there. Theo sighed happily and pulled them both closer to him.

‘I love you both too,’ he said, his magic wrapping around them both. ‘We’ll be okay, you know. Werewolf bounties are going down anyway, thankfully. Not so many dark werewolves around anymore. And the Aurors seem like they’ve got a handle of the proper training now too, thanks to you.’

They shared a moment of satisfied silence that their hard work over the years had started to pay off. 

‘Maybe you could even go back to Magical Creatures,’ Theo suggested, snuggling closer to Hermione so his dark hair tickled her nose. 

She laughed sadly. ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to work at the Ministry again after knowingly harbouring two unregistered werewolves,’ she said, and Draco’s arms tightened protectively around her.

‘Good,’ he said bluntly. ‘Your brain and talents are absolutely wasted on those idiots.’

She didn’t reply but appreciated his defence of her nonetheless. 

‘Let’s go on holiday,’ Theo announced out of the blue. 

‘What?’ Draco said as Hermione tried to bat Theo’s hair out of her mouth. 

‘When did we last go away?’ Theo said now. ‘We were always worried about not being registered, but seen as we’re being forced into it now, we might as well make the most of it.’ 

‘We could go to France,’ Draco added thoughtfully. ‘We have a manor house in the south.’

‘Didn’t a lot of dark werewolves flee to France after the fall of Voldemort’s regime?’ Hermione wondered, although it wasn’t really a question. She’d done her research thoroughly when she started this line of work; she knew full well how many dark werewolves escaped over the Channel in those weeks and months following the Battle of Hogwarts. 

‘A whole new country to conquer,’ Theo said. 

‘A whole new country who don’t give a fuck who we are or where we came from,’ Draco added. 

‘Time to open a new branch of the consultancy?’ Hermione mused out loud. ‘ _ Flèche d'argent _ as a nice ring to it.’ 

There were worse places for a self-imposed exile, after all, than France. Plenty of rare steaks for the boys to enjoy, plenty of dark werewolves to hunt down, and a way to ride out the wave of discontent. Hermione started to smile, and she looked up at her lovers, who were watching her with hope in their eyes. 

‘Let’s do it,’ she said, pulling them both in for a hug.

As Theo had said, as long as they were together, they were happy. 


End file.
